| Alma Richards | |
| Birthname: | Alma Wilford Richards |
| Fullname: | Alma Wilford Richards, Esq. |
| Birth Place: | Parowan, Utah, U.S.[1] |
| Height: | 1.88m (06.17feet)[2] |
| Weight: | 84kg (185lb) |
| Alma Mater: | Brigham Young High School |
| Universityteam: | Cornell University Big Red |
| Sport: | Track and field |
| Event: | High jump, long jump, shot put, discus throw, decathlon |
| Pb: | HJ – 1.956 m (1915) LJ – 7.125 m (1915) SP – 14.01 m (1916) DT – 44.12 m (1922)[3] |
| Coach: | Eugene L. Roberts |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Alma Wilford Richards (February 20, 1890 – April 3, 1963) was an American athlete. He was the first resident of Utah to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, in 1912, in the running high jump event.[1] [4]
Richards graduated from Brigham Young prep school in 1913, and then attended Cornell University with a scholarship, where he was also a member of the Quill and Dagger honor society,[5] [6] and got a law degree.[7]
He taught science at Venice High School in Los Angeles for 32 years.[1] Richards was buried, according to his wishes, in the Parowan Cemetery. He was posthumously inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame (1970),[8] Helms Hall of Fame and Brigham Young University Hall of Fame.[1]
Richards’ first wife was Marian Gardiner Richards. They had one child, Joanne Richards. His second wife was Gertrude Huntimer Richards, and they had three children: Mary Richards Schraeger of La Habra Heights, California; Anita Richards Ricciardi of Whittier California; and Paul Richards of Los Angeles, California.[9] Richards was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their first member to compete in the Olympics.[10]